


Rerun

by wneleh



Category: The Sentinel, due South
Genre: Gen, one of my odder stories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-07
Updated: 2013-06-07
Packaged: 2017-12-14 06:25:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/833761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wneleh/pseuds/wneleh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim and Blair watch <i>Due South</i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rerun

Rerun

by Helen W. 

_Some time before TSbyBS..._

[Blair is sitting on the loft sofa, looking at the television. Jim enters room carrying two open bottles of beer.] 

Jim: Where's the game? 

[Jim plops onto sofa, hands one of the beers to Blair.] 

Blair: Rainout. But _Due South_ is on. 

Jim: Huh. 

Blair: Yeah, I've been meaning to catch it for years. Back before I met you, I was describing sentinels to my intro class, and someone said it sounded like one of the characters on the show. I've tried to catch it a few times, but it was always pre-empted. 

Jim: A sentinel, eh? 

Blair: I, uh, cut that bit from the syllabus a couple of years ago. 

Jim: Great. Wonderful. That guy with the nose doesn't look like the actor in the commercials. 

Blair: Huh. Must be a rerun. 

Jim: And you're watching this because....? 

Blair: I'd like to see how a sentinel is depicted in the mass media. Even if he's not blatantly advertised as having enhanced senses. Is there a racial, or maybe, just, you know, a deeply imbedded cultural idea of the characteristics a sentinel would display? 

Jim: God, I hope not. 

Blair: It could be a chapter! 

Jim: Which brings you to, what, twenty? So, which one's the sentinel? 

Blair: I think it's the Mountie. 

Jim: Which one's the Mountie? 

Blair: It's a wild guess, but I'd go with the one speaking Canadian. 

Jim: How are we going to figure that out? Ask one of them to say 'schedule'? 

| 

_From 'Hawk and a Handsaw'..._

[Fraser and Ray Vecchio are walking through the halls of a hospital. Vecchio is dressed to the nines, Fraser is casually dressed.] 

Vecchio: You know, I have to do this every two years and I still get the jitters. 

Fraser: Trust your own judgment, Ray. Be honest with them. 

Vecchio: This is a psyche review, Benny, not a confessional. Now if you tell them what's really on your mind, you're gonna spend the rest of your career filling out traffic reports. Now if I say mother to you, what is the first thing that pops into your mind. 

Fraser: Father. 

Vecchio: Brother. 

Fraser: Sister. 

Vecchio: Okay, that's good, because it's the easy ones they can trip you up on. Mother, father, brother, sister, mother, father, brother, sister. 

Fraser: Ray, these are professionals. Won't they know if you've rehearsed your answers? 

Vecchio: Ah! They may suspect but they won't be able to prove it. Now I go in there unprepared and they say brother and I say naked I'm gonna be explaining myself away for the next two weeks. 

Fraser: You'd say naked? 

Vecchio: I'm talking hypothetically. 

Fraser: I'm sorry, Ray, but it sounds like you're drawing upon personal experience. 

Vecchio: Well you know, me and my brother used to take baths together when we were younger. What's wrong with that? 

Fraser: Well nothing. It just seems like an odd response. 

Vecchio: Ya see? Ya see? Even you're reading stuff into that. You say something innocent like that and the next thing you know they're trying to convince you that you have dreams of seeing your mother naked. 

Fraser: You have dreams of your mother naked? 

Vecchio: I said brother. 

Fraser: You said mother. 

Vecchio: I know what I said. I said brother. It's my dream, I should know who's in it. 

Fraser: Well, how long you been having this dream? 

Vecchio: There is no dream. I made it up. 

Fraser: I'm sure it doesn't mean anything, Ray.  
  
---|---  
  
Jim: Don't tell me they're doing the psyche thing *at* a *mental hospital!* See, that's why I don't watch cop shows. They're... 

Blair: Artistic license, man. 

| 

Voice: All staff on fifth floor unit. Emergency. 

Nurse 1: How did he get out of the ward? 

Nurse 2: I don't know.   
  
Jim [reaching toward remote control]: Oh, for crying out... 

Blair: It's a comedy. I'm sure they're not going to really have a suicide before the opening credits. 

Jim: It's a cop show. He'll jump. 

Blair: Now, look at the Mountie-guy out there on the ledge. That is *so* you. 

Jim: Wonderful. 

Blair: See, the bravery... 

Jim: Let's hope he does better than me. 

Blair: Oh. Shit. Uh... 

Jim: Forget it, Sandburg. Watch your show. 

| 

Nurse 1: Jumper. 

Fraser: What's his name? 

Nurse 1: He's a John Doe. Come on. 

[Fraser climbs out the window onto a several-foot-wide ledge.] 

Fraser: Hi. How we doing today? 

Walter: I can't find him! 

Fraser: Who's that? 

Walter: Oh man. I gotta stop him. He's really gonna hurt himself. 

Fraser: There's no one else out here. 

Walter: Yes there is. I saw him. He was out here. I saw him out here. 

Fraser: Well maybe I can help. 

Vecchio: Don't go near him, Benny. He'll take you down with him. 

Walter: Oh how? How? How you gonna help? 

Fraser: Well, I'm a Mountie. 

Walter: A Mountie? You don't look like a Mountie. 

Fraser: Well you know, the red uniform it's really mostly for special occasions. Although they seem to insist that I wear mine more than is usual-- 

Walter: You always get your man then. 

Fraser: You know, that's a popular misconception. It really isn't our motto. It was invented by the writer of an early black and white movie. Our actual motto is 'Maintain the right'. Which admittedly may not be as-- 

Vecchio: Benny! 

Fraser: Yes. Yes we do often get our man. 

Walter: Okay. He told me to meet him at the house. He wasn't there and it's not my fault. Not my fault that I was late. Because I missed the bridge... 

Fraser: Yeah, that can happen. 

Walter: That's right. So do you know where he is? 

Vecchio: Fraser, just tell him what he wants to hear. 

Fraser: No I don't. 

Walter: Well, then I am too late. He's down there. He's down there isn't he? 

Fraser: No. He's inside. I saw him inside. 

Walter: You saw Ty? 

Fraser: Yes. 

[Ty goes forward and Fraser grabs him, holding onto a pipe with his other hand. They stay on the ledge, but something small and dark falls.] 

Nurse: Where the hell's a doctor. They never around? 

[Back inside] 

Danny [an orderly]: Let's get you back to your ward, okay? 

Walter: Where is he? Where is Ty? Hey, he's not here. Where is Ty? 

Fraser: I'm sorry. 

Walter: Hey, you lied to me. God, he's not here! You lied to me. 

Danny: Come on. 

Walter: Why did you lie to me? Look you've got to stop him for me. Ya gotta find him for me, please! 

Vecchio: What ya gonna do, huh? 

Fraser: Find Ty.  
  
Jim: So what makes this guy a sentinel, anyway? I didn't notice any heavy-duty listening going on. Except maybe to the jumper. 

Blair: I don't know... wait, did you see that? He just TASTED something off the ground! In the credits! 

Jim: I don't go around tasting things off sidewalks! 

Blair: Well, maybe it works for him. 

|  [Opening credits]  
  
Blair: I think the bus driver did it. 

Jim: No, he's just there for exposition or whatever. 

Blair: No, he's too good an actor to waste on just this one scene. He did it. 

Jim: You call this acting? That hand-waving? 

Blair: You have something against people who talk with their hands? 

Jim [thwacking Blair]: Depends on what they're saying. 

Jim: Man, they have GOT to figure out which of them is doing the questioning! 

Blair: Shhh, I think the entire plot just got laid out. 

Jim: No, I'm betting just until the next commercial. 

| 

[Bus headquarters] 

Vecchio: Oh come on Fraser, he said he was looking for Ty. For all we know we could be looking for an article of clothing. 

Fraser: We'll start with what we know, Ray. We know from Elaine that John Doe was taken to the hospital after having been turned in by a bus driver. 

Vecchio: Yeah, five years ago. 

Bus driver: It's been almost that long since I've been behind a wheel. 

Fraser: You remember him? 

Bus driver: Hard to forget. Poor guy. He rode my bus for weeks. Kept wanting me to take him to some house. 

Fraser: Did you always drive the same route? 

Bus driver: Route number nine. Never understood what he meant, though. Seemed harmless enough. He in some kind of trouble? 

Vecchio: No. [simultaneous] Fraser: Yes. 

Fraser: What did he do? 

Bus driver: Just ride it. One end to the other looking out the window. I never made him pay. It didn't seem quite right seeing I wasn't actually taking him anywhere. Anyway, my shift ends and he wouldn't get off. He kept saying I had to take him there now. I reached over to take his arm and he took a swing at me. He wouldn't get off no matter what, what could I do? I called the cops. 

Vecchio: Well, we don't have a record of charges filed. 

Bus driver: Nah. I didn't have the heart to lock him up. Cops said they'd take him to the psyche ward for seventy-two hours. Check him out. I figured couple, three days with some doctors would probably do him some good. 

Vecchio: Well, he's been in there ever since. No I.D. No name. No home, and possibly violent. He's one of the few they didn't dump in the streets. 

Bus driver: Jeese. 

Fraser: Do you remember where he wanted to go? 

Bus driver: No, uh, I don't know, uh. Mark's house, Marty's house, uh, it's been five years. 

Fraser: Well, we appreciate your time. 

Bus driver: Listen fellas, if I knew they were gonna lock him up, I never would have made that call. You know what I mean. I might have just - Mike's house. That's it, he wanted to go to Mike's house. I can't believe I remembered that. Human mind, pretty weird thing, huh? 

Fraser: Yes it is.   
  
Jim: Where was this filmed? 

Blair: Dunno. Somewhere in Canada probably. 

Jim: That's supposed to be Chicago? If that's Chicago, we live in Vancouver. 

| 

[on a bus] 

Vecchio: Why are you doing this to me, Fraser? 

Fraser: Well, I told him I'd help. 

Vecchio: You tell that to everybody. So what are we going to do? Sit on this bus until Ty gets on? 

Fraser: You know, I looked into that man's eyes when I was on that ledge, Ray, and I saw a man who was lost. You can lose your job, you can lose you home and it can be devastating. But if you lose yourself you have nothing. 

Vecchio: Fraser, the guy was looking for Mike's house on a bus that travels a twelve-mile circuit. Do you have any idea how many Mikes live on this bus route? No. And neither do I and neither does anybody. 

Fraser: We're on the wrong bus. 

Vecchio: This is the number nine. 

Fraser [looking at a packet of bus schedules]: Well he couldn't find the house again because he was on the wrong bus. He needed to make the transfer. 

Vecchio: Oh is that what it says there? Transfer here to Mike's house. 

Fraser: No. He told us. He was late because he missed the bridge. 

[Fraser gestures toward raised drawbridge.] 

[Standing at bus stop] 

Vecchio: Okay, so let's say he transfers here. Seven bus routes pass over this bridge. How are we going to know which bus he took? 

Fraser [to bus driver #1]: Excuse me, can you take us to Mike's House, please? 

Vecchio: Don't you think you're being a wee bit desperate? 

Fraser: Well since he asked the bus driver to take him to Mike's house, he must have had reason to think the bus driver knew where Mike's house was. 

Vecchio: Fraser, there's a guy on my corner who asks me every morning if I've seen God. Do you think he really expects me to point him out? 

Fraser: Well you know if you did, Ray, perhaps he'd stop asking. [Ray nods] 

Fraser: [to driver #2] Excuse me, could you take us to Mike's house, please? [bus drives off] He didn't seem to know where it was. Ah, here comes another one.   
  
Jim: Can't believe these guys haven't figured out the plot yet. 

Blair: What, you know where Mike's House is? 

Jim: You mean, you haven't figured everything out yet either? 

| 

[on bus] 

Fraser: Well, it did take seven tries, Ray. 

Vecchio: I'm telling you this guy is taking us for a ride. He has no idea where Mike's house is. He's probably gonna drop us off in the middle of nowhere and laugh himself sick all the way back down town. 

Fraser: I wonder what Ty was doing that Mr. Doe felt he had to stop. 

Vecchio: Fraser, the guy's insane, he could be talking about Ty Cobb or Tia Babilonia. Maybe he wants her to stop figure skating, which by the way I prefer all men to stop immediately. 

Bus driver 7: This is your stop. Around the corner, first house on the right, you can't miss it. 

Fraser: Thank you kindly. 

Vecchio: Yep, I can hear him laughing already. [They turn corner, find an empty lot.] What did I tell ya? [chases bus] Stop! Stop! Police. Stop! I'm going to bust this guy for something. 

Bus driver 7: What's the problem? 

Vecchio: There's nothing there, Chuckles. 

Bus driver 7: They must have moved. It's a place nobody's asked to go in years. 

Fraser: Do you know where Mike is? 

Bus driver: I think he was killed in the fourteenth Century. 

Vecchio: Oh great, at least now we got a murder investigation on our hands. 

Bus driver: Sit down, sit down, I'll take you to the church.   
  
Blair: Well, that was a bit witty. The thing about the bus driver knowing the century of Saint Michael's death. Uh, that would be a saint, right? 

Jim: No, I think they're talking Sentinel Mike. 

| 

[St. Michael's] 

Behan [a priest]: St. Michael's Halfway House for Troubled Juveniles. I thought that a little stuffy. Apparently so did the rest of the kids. Now they just call it Mike's House. The first one burned down about four years ago. We couldn't afford to rebuild so we just rented a place and reopened again. Too many of our young people are turning to crime. We try to subtly put a little bit of spirituality back into them. If they don't see it come, they may not know it happened. I just wish it had happened for Ty. 

Vecchio: Was he a bad kid? 

Behan: No just took to drugs. Showed great promise. [Shows a scrapbook of pictures of young boys, presumably Ty and Walter.] Natural athlete. Looked after his brother Walter. Now Walter made all city. Now there was a nice boy. 

Fraser: May I? [Looks at scrapbook; pictures could be of anyone.] Ray? 

Behan: You know him? 

Fraser: Yes. Do you know where we could find Ty? 

Behan: He died about five years ago. 

Fraser: I'm sorry. 

Fraser: Well thank you Father, you've been a great help. 

Behan: You're welcome. 

Vecchio: Oh so how did he die? 

Behan: Suicide. Climbed out on the ledge of his apartment. Jumped. Walter took it very hard. Blamed himself. 

Fraser: He was late. 

Behan: Yeah, got home from work a few minutes after it happened. Poor lad, haven't seen him in years. I hope he's doing well. If you see him, tell him to drop by. 

Fraser: I will. Thank you Father. 

Behan: God bless.   
  
Jim: Now you can't tell me you didn't see that coming since before the opening credits. 

Blair: Shhh, they're moving on. 

Jim: Lucky them. 

Blair: No, no, no, LOOK! Fraser's going Sentinel! Look at him looking at that sidewalk. He looks just like you! 

Jim: No way. And anyway... yeah, Vecchio's right. Don't need enhanced vision to see a white sidewalk. 

Blair: No, he's looking it just like you do. It's not just being able to SEE more, it's your FOCUS that makes the enhanced senses work for you. I'm tell you, you look just like he did just then when you're on. 

Blair: Look, he's SNIFFING! I can't believe it! He looks just like you do! 

Jim: I DO NOT do that! 

Blair: Okay, not that blatantly, but, wow! 

| 

[outside hospital] 

Vecchio: So what you gonna tell him? 

Fraser: Well I don't know if he'll hear it, but I owe him the truth. That his brother died five years ago, and there never was anyone on that ledge. [looks over the sidewalk under the ledge where Walter was going to jump] This concrete is white. 

Vecchio: Oh it's a color we like to use for sidewalks in America. 

Fraser: You know, the Inuit have sixty words to describe snow, Ray, one third of them concern the color. 

Vecchio: Eskimos don't have a lot to do in the winter, huh? 

Fraser: Compare this patch with the rest I think you'll discover this area has been bleached. [kneels down and sniffs sidewalk] And recently. Someone was on that ledge, Ray. And they ended up here.   
  
Jim: What about the wallet? 

Blair: What? 

Jim: When that guy almost jumped. Something went falling. I was figuring Fraser would notice it last scene. 

Blair: I didn't notice anything fall. 

Jim: Focus, Chief. I'm paying more attention to your show that you are. 

Blair: Plus, you know, I don't think mental patients carry wallets. 

Jim: Maybe it was a packet of pictures or a glove or something. 

Blair: What on earth would a glove tell anyone? 

Jim: Hey, I'm not the director! 

Blair: Well, maybe he'll find it later. 

Jim: Or they re-wrote but didn't refilm. 

Blair: No way prime-time TV is THAT seat-of-the-pants. 

| 

[Vecchio's car, a green Riviera] 

Vecchio: Look just let it go, okay Fraser? His brother killed himself and then he went nuts. Now I feel for the guy but overly clean cement is not enough evidence. 

Fraser: I think he saw someone on that ledge Ray. The similarity between the incidences made him believe it was his-- 

Vecchio: The guy is crazy. 

Fraser: Delusional people don't simply make things up. 

Vecchio: Yes they do. That's the unique quality that makes them delusional. 

Fraser: No-no, what I mean is that their delusions are usually grounded in something drawn from the real world. They may be distort, they may be exaggerated, they may be joggled, they may be romanticized. 

Vecchio: All right, all right. If somebody jumped, where's the body. 

Fraser: Well I'm sure it'll show up. 

Elaine [over the radio]: Vecchio, they just fished a body out of the Chicago River near Michigan. The Lt. says he'll meet you down there. 

Vecchio: On the way. Look it doesn't prove anything okay? Bodies turn up every day in this city. 

Fraser: No I'm sure that's the case. 

Vecchio: Oh all right, what's your theory? The guy jumped from the fifth floor of the hospital, caught a thermal updraft and flew the sixteen blocks to the river? 

Fraser: Well that's just silly Ray. 

Vecchio: It's a joke.   
  
Blair: Man, Simon is looking better and better. 

Jim: It's standard issue cop show garbage. Tough boss with a heart of gold. 

Blair: Like on 'Starsky and Hutch'? 

Jim: Naomi let you watch 'Starsky and Hutch'? 

Blair: Naomi had a thing for Starsky. 

Jim: Well, that explains a lot. 

Blair: Huh? 

Jim: Well, you could be Paul Glaser's kid. 

Blair: You know the name of the guy who played Starsky? 

Jim: I have a little brother, remember? And the car was cool. 

Blair: There's a mystery for you. Why do TV cops always have cool cars? 

Jim: Realism. I mean, look at my Suburban. 

| 

[riverbank] 

Welsh: Morning Detective. 

Vecchio: Ah, morning lieutenant. 

Welsh: You know I was trying to figure out why I missed you so much yesterday afternoon then I realized, you weren't there. Now perhaps you can explain, Detective, how an entire working day can go by without you doing any actual police work. 

Vecchio: A missing person sir. 

Welsh: Who? 

Vecchio: Ty. 

Welsh: Ty. 

Vecchio: Yes sir. 

Welsh: Babilonia. 

Vecchio: Uh, no sir. 

Welsh: Ah it's too bad. We don't see enough of her anymore. 

Vecchio: Ah no we don't, sir. 

Welsh: Are you aware we have a naked corpse over there? 

Vecchio: Uh, yes I am sir. Oh...I'll uh, go check that out sir. 

Welsh: Good thinking. 

Vecchio: Got a cause of death? 

Pearson [medical examiner, touching body]: You want to know before tomorrow, talk to a gypsy. 

Vecchio: All right, look, see the Mountie over there? Tell him the guy drowned. 

Pearson: Forget it. 

Vecchio: Come on, there's no law against lying to Canadians. I'd owe you one. 

Pearson: Like you'd ever have something I'd want.   
  
Blair: Look at that! Think he's using vision? 

Jim: Clairvoyance, more like. 

Blair: You holding out on me, man? What would that be, a seventh sense, after communing with ghosts? 

Jim: And before killing with my brainwaves. 

Blair: From now on, I'm wearing aluminum foil to bed. 

| 

Fraser: It would appear he was dead before he hit the water. 

Vecchio: You haven't even looked at the body yet. 

Fraser: Good morning Dr. Pearson. Am I right? 

Vecchio: The ice maiden ain't talking. 

Pearson: You're right. 

Vecchio: Now look, I'm saying he jumped off the bridge and died on impact. 

Fraser: Although I doubt that he'd take off all his clothes before jumping. Multiple fractures, twenty, twenty-one possibly twenty-three broken bones? 

Pearson: You hit water from high enough and it's like landing on pavement. 

Fraser: By high enough you mean? 

Pearson: A lot higher than that bridge. 

Fraser: And if he did land on concrete? 

Pearson: Maybe fifty feet? 

Fraser: Five stories. It's the exact height of that ledge. Thank you. [to wolf] Diefenbaker. 

Dief: Whine 

Fraser: Diefenbaker. Come. [to Pearson] I'm terribly sorry about this. But you see, in the village where he grew up there were very few people with blond hair and as a result ever since we've come to Chicago he's been... how shall I put this... transfixed. Anyway, that's not the problem. The problem is, he has a tendency to take advantage of situations. He cannot expect her to give you a lift home just because the others did. Dr. Pearson's a very busy person. 

Pearson: No, I'll be glad to. 

Fraser: Although that's very kind of you. But you see that would play right into his tendency to manipulate. 

Pearson: It's no problem. 

Fraser: Well, thank you Dr. Pearson. 

Pearson: Esther. 

Fraser: Esther Pearson? You wouldn't by any way be related to... 

Pearson: No. 

Fraser: No, of course you wouldn't. Thank you kindly.   
  
Blair: So, is Ester Pearson the Romantic Interest of the Week? 

Jim: No, it's an inside joke. Lester Pearson was the Prime Minister of Canada in the 60's, right after Diefenbaker. 

Blair: Who? 

Jim: The dog. 

Blair: I'm pretty sure they only elect humans, even in Canada. 

| 

Fraser: Ray, whoever dumped that body didn't want us to know who he was or where he came from. 

Vecchio: Ah Fraser, I'm begging you, please. 

Fraser: There's something going on inside that hospital Ray. 

Vecchio: You're crazy! 

Fraser: That's a good idea.   
  
Blair: No! They are NOT going to send him undercover in a mental institution. 

Jim: If you'd rather change chan... 

Blair: No, I'm good. I'm counting enhanced senses here. We're up to three, right? Taste, smell, and vision? 

Jim: Don't think you've proven that they're enhanced, just that he pays attention. 

Blair: Yeah, granted. What the HELL is he talking about? 

Jim: You've got me. 

| 

[hospital office] 

Psychologist: So you're a Mountie are you? 

Fraser: Constable. Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Yes. 

Psychologist: Here in Chicago. 

Fraser: Well, you see I used to live in the Yukon but I uncovered a plot that involved drowning caribou and then some men who were dressed in white came after me with homicidal intentions. It's a rather long story. It takes exactly two hours to tell but the upshot of it is I was sent here. I think I embarrassed some people in the government. 

Psychologist: Do you have anyone who can vouch for you here? 

Fraser: Well, yes, there's my wolf. Although I'm not sure he would vouch for me. If you know anything about lupine behavior, you know how moody they are and on top of that he's deaf. 

Psychologist: Name? 

Fraser: I'd rather not say. 

[Danny puts his hands on Fraser's shoulders so he knows he is in back of him. Fraser looks up and smiles the innocent smile] 

Fraser: Ah.   
  
Blair: I change my mind. This guy did it. 

Jim: The bus driver's off the hook? 

Blair: Maybe they're in cahoots. 

| 

[Dr. Martins' office] 

Walter: I couldn't stop it and uh, I should have been there. 

Dr. Martins [man in his 50s]: John you couldn't stop something from happening that didn't happen. Walter. No-no, he was there. I saw him out there. 

Dr. Martins: John, do you remember when you first came here? Do you remember what you said? 

Walter: I think I've got to do something. 

Dr. Martins: Let's see your file, John. Take a look at it. You see what it says there? Says here you were looking for Ty and you wanted to stop him. 

Walter: Yes but you see I saw him uh oh yesterday. I saw him yesterday. 

Dr. Martins: Look at your file John. That was five years ago. He couldn't have been out on the ledge. Not yesterday, not the day before. 

Walter: Yeah. It's very clear. 

Dr. Martins: You're getting a lot better lately John. A lot better. You know that? You don't want to go back to the way you were, I know that. 

Walter: No, I really don't. 

Dr. Martins: So what did you see on the ledge? 

Walter: Uh... nothing. 

Dr. Martins: You're doing just fine.   
  
Jim: Okay, NOW they're finally getting to the plot. 

Blair: It's supposed to be a mystery. 

Jim: Then why now and not at the end of the show. One way or the other, man. 

Blair: I see why you stick to sports. 

| 

[Dr. Farmer's office] 

Dr. Farmer [woman in her 40s or early 50s]: Is he in the test group? 

Dr. Martins: Yes. You won't have any problems with him. Our problem is with your drug. Five suicides now. That's totally unacceptable in a sample of fifty. 

Dr. Farmer: Forty-five with marked improvement. I prefer to see the glass as half full. 

Dr. Martins: You think this is a joke? 

Dr. Farmer: Ah, no Will, but I think that you are over-reacting. 

Dr. Martins: Over-reacting? We have a body dumped in the river and that--how the Hell did I let this happen? 

Dr. Farmer: How many manic depressants are in this country? 

Dr. Martins: I don't want to hear this speech again. 

Dr. Farmer: You know as well as I do that nothing, not a drug out there can help them as much as this one has helped those people in there. 

Dr. Martins: But it's killing them for God's sakes. Five people have taken their lives-- 

Dr. Farmer: Five people who had suicidal tendencies before you ever put them on this drug. You know that. There is noting in the material that leads eighty-forty with 

Dr. Martins: You're writing the materials. We keep sanitizing it. Every death is just swept under the rug. 

Dr. Farmer: The trials will be over soon. In two weeks we go to the FDA and it'll be out of your hands. 

Dr. Martins: And it will go on to kill how many more people? 

Dr. Farmer: You know damn well that even if they approve it tomorrow the thing won't hit the market for another two years and by then we'll reduce the risk factor to acceptable levels. But if we have to start over again, my company can't afford another five years of testing. We'll go under. And with us will go a drug that could have done a hell of a lot of people a hell of a lot of good and you're stock won't be worth a damn thing. Who knows about the jumper? 

Dr. Martins: Just one of the psychiatric assistance. 

Dr. Farmer: Danny? 

Dr. Martins: Yeah. 

Dr. Farmer: He's a good man. I'll take care of him. Okay, he was a John Doe right? 

Dr. Martins: Yes. 

Dr. Farmer: Then find another one. Give him the same patient number. Fifty patients. They have to come through this test well. Fifty living patients. It's only two more weeks. You find me a John Doe. 

[hospital hall, Danny hands Fraser's file to Dr. Martins as they pass by]   
  
Blair: I hate this sort of shit. Mental hospitals aren't a barrel of laughs. 

Jim: Conover wasn't JUST a mental institution. 

Blair: I know, but this is just SO exploitive. You'd never have this sort of thing set on a, on a cancer ward or something. 

| 

Danny: You get in line here and they'll give you your medicine. 

Fraser: Thank you kindly. 

Danny: You behave and we'll get along just fine. You act up and we'll have to take away your privileges. 

Fraser: What privileges might those be? 

Danny: You want to keep wearing that hat? 

Fraser: I prefer to. 

Danny: Then you be a good boy and take all your medicine. 

Fraser: So I shall. [Danny puts him in line with the other patients.] 

Patient 1: Don't take your feet off the ground. 

Fraser: Okay. 

Patient 1: If you take your feet off the ground they can kill you. 

Fraser: Really? 

Patient 1: They've been trying to kill me for years. But I sleep with my feet on the ground. Rubber soles, they insulate against electricity. 

Fraser: You're absolutely correct. 

Patient 1: I know. 

Fraser: Hi. 

Walter: Hi. You're the guy from the ledge. 

Fraser: Yes. I would prefer no one else knew. 

Walter: You're a patient here? 

Fraser: I was admitted for evaluation. 

Walter: Well I'm sorry to hear that. 

Fraser: Who was it you saw on that ledge. [Walter doesn't answer.] You'd rather not talk about it. 

Walter: Listen, you just got here okay so you don't know anything. Believe me. I've been here a long time and I just want to get better and get out. 

Fraser: Are you? 

Walter: Are I what? 

Fraser: Getting better. 

Walter: It doesn't matter what I think. 

Fraser: I would've thought that's the only thing that matters. 

Patient 1: Don't worry about him. Doesn't know what he knows. 

Patient 2: Yeah. You don't look like Winston. 

Fraser: Well I'm not. 

Patient 2: You're on his spot. That is Winston's spot. 

Fraser: What happen to Winston? 

Patient 2: He wouldn't tell them his name and they killed him. 

Patient 1: Took his feet off the ground. 

Patient 2: You standing on his spot, they take you to the blue room. 

Walter: There's no blue room. But don't listen to me. I don't know what I know. 

Patient 2: Actually I don't know what I don't know. 

Patient 1: Shuffle. 

Fraser: Oh right. 

Nurse Unger: Here you go John. Hi, who are you? 

Fraser: I'd rather not say. 

Danny: He's John Doe. 

Nurse Unger: There must be a mistake here. 

Danny: No-no-no-no. It's right here. Number thirty-six. 

Nurse Unger [accesses computer; we hear keys click]: Nobody tells me anything. 

Fraser: Could you tell me where the blue room is? 

Medicine Nurse: I'm sorry, There's no blue room on this ward. Only beige. It's suppose to be calming. [Fraser puts pill in his mouth and starts to leave] 

Danny: Whoa-Whoa-Whoa. Drink your water. The whole thing.   
  
Blair: And nobody's wondering why some guy with no name has friends stopping by? 

[Jim reaches over, squeezes Blair's leg briefly, releases.] 

| 

[visitors room] 

Vecchio: Your friend the Ice Maiden finally served up an autopsy report on the John Doe by the river. 

Fraser: Cause of death? 

Vecchio: He was struck by a blunt object. Probably a sidewalk. And the pharmacology report turned up something interesting in his system. The M.E. called it some kind of MAO inhibitor. No buzz, no street value. 

Fraser: Prescription? 

Vecchio: FDA has no record of it. Completely unregistered.   
  
Blair: Hey, can you do that? How come he can do that and you can't? 

Jim: Sandburg... 

| 

Fraser: I think I know what it is. [takes pill from his mouth] 

Vecchio: Ew! How long has that been in there? 

Fraser: Two and a half hours. 

Vecchio: Don't those things dissolve? 

Fraser: The key is to control your saliva ducts. They've been giving this to every patient on the ward. 

Vecchio: Just put it in there. [offers his pocket] I'll check it out. [they sit quiet for a second] So how's the food?   
  
Blair: Man, they look drugged. 

Jim: I was just thinking it looked a lot like your department's student lounge. 

Blair: Well, maybe during finals. 

| 

[recreation room, the TV is playing _The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin_ ] 

Fraser [to Walter]: Hi. How we doing today? 

Walter: Some days are better than others. 

Fraser: Can I ask you a question? Do you know how long you've been in here? 

Walter: I'm insane, not stupid. 

Fraser: Sorry. 

Walter: Yeah, today I know. 

Fraser: Can we talk about Ty? [Walter shakes his head no.] What was Winston like? 

Patient 1: Quiet. He never talked. Paranoid. 

Fraser: Oh, so what happen to him? 

Walter: Why are you asking us all these things? 

Fraser: You were here. You see things. 

Patient 3: I know where it is. 

Fraser: What's that? 

Patient 3: Cramer. He went to the blue room. 

Walter: You don't know anything. 

Patient 3: So where's Cramer then? 

Patient 1: Don't go to the blue room. 

Fraser: Is that where Winston went? 

Patient 1: I told him not to take his feet off the floor. 

Walter: There is no blue room. 

Patient 3: What do you know. You're delusional. 

Fraser: Can you show me where it is? 

Patient 3: You believe me? 

Fraser: Yes. 

Patient 3: You're scaring me. 

Patient 1: I'll go with you. Come on, come on. Feet on the floor. 

Fraser: Right.   
  
Blair: Now THIS looks familiar. Freshman orientation. 

| 

[patients 1 and 3 got with Fraser] 

Walter: You guys are wasting your time. 

[They begin a search of the ward.] 

Fraser: This is the blue room? 

Patient 1: Come here, come here. 

[stair well] 

Fraser: This is it? 

Patient 1: That's right. 

[room] 

Fraser: The blue room? 

Patient 3: Yeah, that's it. [Others shake heads.] 

[Fraser is getting a crowd now as they look in the bathroom.] 

Patient 4: Don't ever go in there. 

Patient 1: Unless you really have to. 

[past the nurses station] 

Patient 5: Which way did they go? 

Patient 6: North by northwest. 

Dr. Martins: What was that all about? 

Nurse Unger: I think they're tracking something. 

Dr. Martins: Uh. 

[The crowd following Fraser has grown... he looses some of them.] 

Fraser: Hello? This way. 

Dr. Martins: Well keep an eye on the new one will ya? Could be dangerous. 

[yet another room] 

Fraser [at window]: The. Blue. Room. 

Patient 1: Yeah. This is the blue room.   
  
Blair: You know, it's scary how well Fraser fits in there. 

| 

[Fraser's room. He is laying on his bed writing.] 

Fraser: Hi. 

Walter: Hi. 

Fraser: Come on in. One of the patients said something and I was just trying to remember where I heard it. My father used to quote it. It's from Hamlet. 'I am but mad north northwest. When the wind is southerly, I know the difference between a Hawk and a Handsaw.' 

Walter: You're not helping them you know. 

Fraser: People see things. 

Walter: Sometimes they do but that doesn't mean that they're real. That doesn't mean that it happened. 

Fraser: Well, I'm not sure about that. Quite often I see things that nobody else seems to. 

Walter: Well, that's why you're here. 

Fraser [laughs]: Yes, I suppose so. 

[Walter stands looking out the window.] 

Fraser: It's a curious thing, reality, isn't it? 

Walter: Yep. 

Fraser: So much of the time it seems to be - a matter of what you believe. If a lot of people believe in something then that becomes reality, at least for them. And then some people find it easier to make a new reality. Especially if the truth is too painful. But I think you know that, don't you Walter? 

Walter: Is that who I am? 

Fraser: No. That's just your name. Walter Sparks. But I don't need to know your name to know who you are. 

Walter: Well, I'm not who you think I am. 

Fraser: It wasn't your fault. 

Walter: Yes, it was. I was late. 

Fraser: Ty made his own decision. 

Walter: Yeah, sometimes that's clear. Sometimes it is, but sometimes I think uh, it probably would have been easier if I'd killed myself.   
  
[Blair glances at Jim, face betraying concern. Jim's eyes are fixed on the screen, though whether it's to follow the show or avoid Blair's gaze is unclear.] 

| 

Fraser: Maybe it would have been. You know, my mother died when I was very young. I don't remember a lot about that time except...except my father's beard. I don't remember him crying or talking about her. I just woke up one morning and I noticed he had a beard, and it kept getting longer and longer and he got thinner and he stopped going to work. My mother died and my father stopped living. And then one morning I woke up and there was a breakfast waiting for me at the table. Oatmeal and uh, sliced banana. And he was clean-shaven and he was crying. 

Walter: Well your dad was a very strong man. 

Fraser: He just woke up and the wind was from the south and he found he still knew the difference between a hawk and a handsaw.   
  
[Jim exhales, then laughs] 

Jim: Again with the visitors for the John Doe. 

| 

Danny [to Ray]: The visitor room's being painted. You can meet in here. 

Vecchio: Got the lab results back on those pills. You know it's the same drug. 

Fraser: They must be conducting clinical tests here. The man you pulled out of the river, his name was Winston. The drug was connected to his death and I think they are covering up in order to falsify test results. Now what I haven't been able to figure out is where the blue room is. Somehow it's associated with the deaths. 

Vecchio: Okay, only one problem with your theory. The lab says no way the drug is lethal. Worst case is it may cause some depression. 

Fraser: I didn't listen to what they wee telling me. Well I did but I listened with my eyeballs. 

Vecchio: You know you're really beginning to scare me. 

Fraser: You know, Ray, all communication is a code of one kind or another. If you don't understand the language it makes no sense. They weren't talking about the color blue, they were talking about the emotion. The drug causes depression, they went into the blue room, they killed themselves. 

Vecchio: Okay, I'll be back in twenty with a warrant. 

Fraser [as Ray opens the door]: Ray, who did you tell you were coming here? 

Vecchio: Nobody why? 

[Vecchio is grabbed by Danny, accompanied by Dr. Martins.] 

I misunderstood the question. I told everybody I know. I told the states attorney, I told the sheriff, I even told my mother. 

Danny: Another John Doe? All right! 

[Vecchio and Fraser are tossed into a padded room.] 

Vecchio: I don't think they're really painting the visiting room Fraser.   
  
Blair: Well, THAT'S something that's never happened to us. 

Jim: I don't know, reminds me of that time... 

Blair: Shuddup. 

| 

Vecchio [thrashing]: Will you take a look at this room? It looks like something out of the dark ages. They'll probably give us shock treatment. I don't react well to shock treatment. 

Fraser: Calm down Ray. They're not going to do anything like that. They're going to kill us. 

Vecchio: Yeah. Well, to most people those would be contradictory thoughts. Heeeeeellllllp! 

[Dr. Martins' office] 

Dr. Martins [on phone to Dr. Farmer]: He's a real Mountie. And his pal's a real cop. Yes. Yes. They're under control. No, no, I'm not going to do that. Covering up suicides I can some how rationalize but not murder. No. You'll have to think of something else. Yes. I'll be waiting. 

Dr. Farmer [in her car]: Coward. 

[back in the padded room] 

Vecchio: Heeeeeellllllp! 

Fraser: It would appear to be a sound-proof room. 

Vecchio: You got a better plan? 

Fraser: Yes. Relax. 

Vecchio: That's a plan? 

Fraser: The more you struggle, Ray, the tighter it becomes. All you have to do is relax completely. Dislocate your shoulder and pull your arm out of the sleeve. 

Vecchio: Yeah, or you could let me out. 

Fraser: Well yeah, that would work too. Hang on one second.   
  
Blair: See, there's another thing he does that you don't. 

Jim: Maybe arm dislocation can become your specialty. 

| 

Fraser: A dead Bolt. Keyless entry. Sealed frame, hinged from the outside. 

Vecchio: There's no windows and a sealed door. You might as well just leave my straight jacket on. 

Fraser: Well if something got in with the door being locked, we should be able to get outside. 

Vecchio: Oh, did something get in? 

Fraser: Yes. Air. In spite of being in a hermetically sealed room, we haven't suffocated. 

Vecchio: You know there's only one problem with that. We're a lot bigger than air. 

Fraser: Air's flowing through the padding. [cutting padding] I sharpened my buckle. 

Vecchio: You anticipated cutting your way out of a rubber room? 

[somewhere outside room] 

Dr. Farmer: You've got to finish what you started Martins. 

[back in room] 

Vecchio: Bolted shut. 

Fraser: Archimedes said, 'Give me a fulcrum and a lever long enough and I can move the world.' 

[walking down hall] 

Doctor Martins: I want nothing to do with this. 

Dr. Farmer: You're in Doc. The appropriate time to have a battle with your conscience is long since passed you by. 

Vecchio: Why do I always have to be the fulcrum. 

Fraser: Stop moving Ray, you're dispersing the energy. 

[And the vent pops open!] 

Doctor Martins [to empty padded room]: They were here. They were locked in! 

Dr. Farmer: Where does that go? 

Vecchio [coming out of the air duct]: Fraser, I don't think this is the way out of here. 

Fraser: They'll discover we're missing in a matter of minutes. Maybe less. By the time we got back with a warrant there'd be no evidence left to seize. Come on.   
  
Blair: Do you think you could really do that? 

Jim: Shhh.... 

| 

[The nurses station, Fraser is sitting at keyboard with his eyes closed, wiggling fingers.] 

Vecchio: I bet if you opened your eyes you wouldn't miss the keyboard. 

Fraser: Although I saw the nurse type in the password, I didn't actually see it. 

Vecchio: Watching with your ears were you? 

Fraser: Well yes. You see, each finger applies a different pressure to each key so each sounds slightly different. Of course that varies from person to person. 

Vecchio: What did this one sound like. 

Fraser: Something like to the tune of 'I've been working on the railroad' [he hums, I've been working on the railroad then types 'all-the-live-long-day -- the computer shows 'Access denied' on the screen. They both hum and Fraser types it again and again am told access denied] 

[Danny and Dr. Farmer search rooms.] 

Vecchio: Last chance Dinah. 

Fraser: Perhaps it was the refrain. 

[Both hum 'Dinah blow your horn'; he types and gets in.] 

Fraser: It was Dinah blow your horn.  
  
Jim: I thought it was 'Shave and a haircut.' 

|  Dr. Martins: Security says they haven't left the building. I had them post an extra man on each exit. 

Fraser: Okay we got it. 

Dr. Martins: Alright people back in your rooms. 

Walter: Hey, what's going on? 

Danny: They're not here. 

Walter: Who you looking for? 

Dr. Martins: No one. 

Fraser [copying the files]: Alright that's the last of them. All five of the deceased and their medical histories. 

Vecchio: Good, now we can get out of here if we can. [door opens] Maybe not. 

Danny: Boys just got yourselves a trip to the blue room.   
  
Blair: Wait, since when has that nurse been one of the good guys? 

Jim: It's always the ugly women who are evil. Give Carolyn a call some time and ask her about it, just pack a sandwich. 

| 

[Dr. Farmer is burning files. Nurse Unger sees what is happening and calls the police] 

Dr. Martins: Don't worry here. Okay people step aside, step aside. Now nothing's happening here. Nothings happening here. Get back to your beds. 

Vecchio: Hey, I'm a cop. Do something. 

Dr. Martins: Back to your beds. 

Vecchio: They want to kill us! 

Patient 1: Me too! 

Vecchio: Come on, do something. 

Fraser: They're confused, Ray. 

Dr. Martins: Back to your beds. Alright, step aside people. 

Walter: Where you taking em? 

Dr. Martins: Nowhere now just step aside. 

Walter: No, you're taking them somewhere. 

Dr. Martins: Look, nothing is happening here. Now you're getting better, John. Don't start imagining things again. Trust me. 

Fraser: Trust what you see, Walter. 

Dr. Martins: Do you really want to spend the rest of your life in here? [Walter steps aside.] Alright, come on people, back to your beds.   
  
Blair: Come on, come on you... 

Jim: Wonder what's in the needle. 

| 

[Walter sees the needle at Ray's neck as he passes, then the restraints on Fraser and charges the Doctors and Danny] 

Walter: AAAAAAAH! 

[Fraser, falling over gets the restraints to his front. In the fight patient 1 and Walter restrain Danny and, though you don't see it, unties Ray. Dr. Martins runs off with Fraser close behind} 

Fraser [to arriving cops]: Did anyone else come through here? 

Cop: Not past us. 

Fraser: Okay, south hallway, Farmer and an orderly. Check all the offices!   
  
Jim: Good. Chicago PD gets a chance to do something useful. About time. 

Blair: You pick Chicago over, what, Toronto? Just because he's the American? 

Jim: Got a problem with that? And didn't he say Yukon? 

Blair: You're just sore because Fraser got him in trouble with Simon. 

| 

[on ledge] 

Dr. Martins: Don't come out here. Not unless you want them scraping us both off the pavement. 

Vecchio: Am I wearing a funny hat? Do I look like a Mountie? Jump. What do I care. 

Dr. Martins: I have a medical degree officer. Your high school reverse psychology isn't going to work on me. 

Vecchio: What psychology. I ain't going out on that ledge. 

Dr. Martins: Good bye, Detective. 

Vecchio: Okay, okay. I'm coming out! Don't jump. 

Dr. Martins: Sorry. 

Vecchio: Fraser! Just one second. 

Dr. Martins: Fact is, Detective, that I know what I did and I know what's going to happen to me. 

Vecchio: Fraser! [Dr. Martins sort of falls forward, Fraser breaks through the window and grabs Dr. Martins' ankles.] 

Dr. Martins: Oof! [Dr. Martins is still hanging upside down] 

Fraser: You know your Shakespeare Doctor? 

Dr. Martins: I don't get much chance to read. 

Fraser: Well you will. [to Vecchio] Ray you want to give me a hand? 

Vecchio: I'm coming, I'm coming.   
  
Blair: So that's it. A little pat. 

Jim: It's television. 

| 

[St. Michaels] 

Behan: He's finishing up. You can go on down. 

Fraser: Thank you Father. 

Behan: Vecchio huh? You Catholic? [Ray digs out money and hands it over] 

Fraser [finding Walter]: Father Behan says this place has never been this clean. 

Walter [now clean-shaven]: Yeah, I guess I'm a little bit compulsive. 

Fraser: How are you? 

Walter: Good. I'm doing okay. I miss Ty and for the first time I really miss Ty. 

Fraser: I'm sorry. 

Walter: No, it's okay. That's good. In a funny way it means I kinda have him back again. I'd rather miss him then forget him, anyway. 

[Fraser and Walter sort of nod knowingly at each other as Walter strokes where his beard used to be.] 

Walter: Yeah.   
  
[The closing credits roll; Blair clicks off the TV.] 

Blair: So. You think Fraser's really supposed to have enhanced senses? Or does he just use them effectively? 

Jim: I'm not sure it matters. Blair... 

Blair: Huh? 

Jim: Do I REALLY look like that when I'm, you know, working a crime scene or whatever. 

Blair: Uh... Depends on what else is going on and how quickly we need answers. 

Jim: Fraser just seems like... such a freak. 

Blair: I think that's just the character. 

Jim: I was expecting a sentinel... I think I was expecting someone like 'Cacha. 

Blair: Incacha wasn't a sentinel, though. And I think the character was actually pretty neat. Brave, obviously bright, just a little stiff... I think that was supposed to be his Canadianness or something. 

Jim: Yeah, maybe... 

Blair: Then what's the problem? 

Jim: Well... okay, I'm used to TV cops being a cliche. Not really like the real thing. But, you know, not SO far off either. And, ya know, more importantly, how law enforcement is portrayed on TV, that says something about how we're seen by society. 

Blair: Like Mulder and Scully. 

Jim: Okay, not in some of the specifics. But would you believe those two as pastry chefs, or high school teachers, or, or conspiring psyche ward doctors? 

Blair: Okay, I take your point. 

Jim: So, remember why you wanted to watch the show in the first place? To see if there's some sort of back-of-the-mind image of what someone with enhanced senses would be like? Well, what if Fraser's IT? If my enhanced senses ever became public knowledge, would people expect me to be that way? 

Blair: Well, Fraser seems to get along fine. 

Jim: Yeah, especially in the mental ward. 

Blair [handing remote control to Jim]: Okay, you'd better pick the next show. 

Jim: Actually, I have something on tape from the other night. They've remade _The Magnificent Seven_ as a TV show and I wanted to see if it was any good. 

* * * THE END * * *  
  
---  
  
**Author's Note:**

> I'd appreciate knowing whether you think I should do some clipping of the _Due South_ trasncript, and what episode of _The Sentinel_ Fraser and one of the Rays should catch some time.


End file.
